Creating A Gorgeous Garden

Creating A Gorgeous Garden

How To Lay Sod Yourself

by Tiffany Gonzales

If your yard is mostly dirt and weeds, with very little grass, you can spread fertilizer and grass seed and cross your fingers that eventually you'll get grass to grow, or you can scrap that mess of a yard and lay sod so you'll have a beautiful, plush lawn quickly. You can find sod at your local landscaping supplier, some will even lay it for you and do all of the prep work needed to get that yard you've been dreaming about. But, if you want to get your own hands dirty and say that you did the work all on your own, read the directions below to ensure you lay the sod correctly and the roots attach to the ground below properly.

Prep The Ground

You'll be starting from scratch, so you'll need to till the ground and remove all of those weeds invading your yard. This will take some time and a lot of hard work. You can rent a tiller from your local rental shop. Be sure to grade the ground so that the water will drain away from your foundation and window wells. Once you have the ground tilled and the proper grading, you may want to think about adding topsoil, especially if you have clay or really tough dirt that makes it hard for grass to grow. Till through the topsoil and remove any large rocks from the area.

Laying The Sod

You'll need enough sod to cover the ground, but you may want to add a few extra rolls just in case your measurements are off a bit. Be sure not to get the sod until the day before you actually need it, otherwise leaving it to sit can cause the bottom of the sod to dry out. You want the ground ready before getting the sod, so once the ground is ready, purchase your sod and have it delivered to your home (or use a trailer to pick it up - it will be heavy). Water the ground below so it's damp, but not soaking wet. Unroll the pieces of sod, laying it out in a brick formation, keeping each piece butted up and close to the next piece. Continue working in this pattern until you have all of the sod laid in your yard.

Water Your Sod

This is a very important step. You need to water your new sod. Use a sprinkler (or multiple sprinklers), rather than standing with a hose in your hand for 25 minutes or more. The temperature outside depends on how much you need to water your sod. If temperatures are below 70 degrees, you may not need to water it as much, but if it's over 70 degrees, you should water it at least 3 times per day for about 25 - 30 minutes to ensure the roots don't dry out. 

Mow

You shouldn't need to mow the sod for about 3-4 weeks after laying it. When you do mow it, raise the mowing deck so it's higher than normal. You don't want to scalp your new lawn, just trim it up a bit. Do this as needed until your sod has rooted and is growing as a lawn should, then you can mow it a little lower. Mowing your lawn too low though can cause weeds to invade your lawn. Higher grass blocks the sun from getting to those pesky weeds and chokes them out.

Laying sod is a pretty tough job and requires a lot of attention. Leave the work to a professional sod laying company, such as Metro Sod & Seeding Inc, to ensure your sod roots and grows properly if you aren't up to the task.


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About Me

Creating A Gorgeous Garden

I have always been someone who absolutely adores being outside, which is probably one of the reasons I decided to buy a home with a large lot. However, as soon as I moved in, I realized that yard work was a lot more challenging than I had anticipated, which is why I called in a team of professional landscapers. They were amazing to work with and got right to it, and within a few days, the yard was looking amazing. I wanted to create a blog all about creating beautiful outdoors spaces so that other people can help to beautify the world.